Wider Paths and Wheelchairs: Planning a Playground for Children of All Abilities

Children of all abilities can learn and grow from playing outside, even those with mobility problems, blindness, deafness and other challenges. Play makes children more focused in the classroom, teaches them essential social skills, gives them better self-esteem, and in general, results in healthier, happier children.

Meanwhile, studies have demonstrated that when given the opportunity and the same play environment, children without disabilities will interact with and play with children with disabilities. If you'd like to know more, here are some ways to
make playgrounds accessible.

Make Sure Everyone Can Get to It

Proper playground design should address how people will get to the playground from the parking lot or other points of entry. Make sure pathways are wide enough for wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

Make Sure You Have Proper Surfacing

It is hard to push a wheelchair on loose fill like sand, wood fibre or gravel. Children with autism or developmental delays may try to eat the loose fill, or put it into their eyes or noses. Rubber tiles, "pour-in-place" synthetic surfacing, and certain types of turf that are designed for playgrounds are excellent alternatives. They may be more expensive upfront, but you will save on maintenance costs, since you would have to budget for the regular purchase of additional loose fill to keep the playground fill at the required depth.

Make Sure You Think Broadly About Disabilities

Making a playground accessible is not just building more ramps for children in wheelchairs. Disabilities are diverse and of course, not always physical-sensory disabilities, learning disabilities or other types of challenges. Sensory play is especially important for children with disabilities, and not just brightly coloured things, but items with different textures to touch and that make different sounds.

Make Sure You Consider Landscaping

Landscaping can greatly enhance the playground experience for children with disabilities. You can carve out quieter areas where children can move to if they need a calmer atmosphere. Shade is also important. Some playgrounds incorporate plants with nice smells to enjoy, but make sure these smells are not overwhelming. You will benefit from the expertise of professional landscaping services to implement these ideas.

Make Sure There Are Fun Things to Do

Having a ramp with nothing interesting to do at the top is counterproductive. Make sure that if you have many ramps, at least some of them should have some fun activity to do at the top.

Your playground could include areas with different levels of challenges to accommodate varying stages of development. The danger of having a playground that is too easy to navigate or boring to the eyes is that some children may go elsewhere, which brings you back to the problem of lack of inclusiveness.

Swings are extremely popular; however, be sure to find a playground manufacturer that can make bucket swings with seat belts. Thankfully, more playground manufacturers are starting to offer accessible playground components.

Foster Interaction in the Design and Planning Stages

It is impossible to build a play area in which every single component can be accessed by everyone, disability or not. Designing your playground so that children with disabilities can enjoy some of the same activities as their classmates without disabilities is paramount. Your job is to create the opportunities and the children will take care of the rest.